Princess Marie Françoise of Bourbon-Parma

Princess Marie-Françoise Antoinette Jeanne Madeleine of Bourbon-Parma (Spanish: María Francisca de Borbón-Parma, French: Marie-Françoise de Bourbon-Parme; born 19 August 1928) is a French humanitarian and philanthropist. After escaping the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 with the assistance of Catholic Relief Services, she helped settle refugees in West Berlin who fled the Soviet Union. In the 1980s, while her husband, Prince Edouard de Lobkowicz, was serving as the Sovereign Military Order of Malta's ambassador to Lebanon, she was involved in the construction and development of twelve medical and social centers owned by the Order. Princess Marie-Françoise founded the Malte Liban Association, a Catholic organization that raises money for medical clinics serving the poor in Lebanon, in 1987. She served as a delegate of the United Nations from 1990 to 1995.

Princess Marie-Françoise
Princess Edouard de Lobkowicz
Marie-Françoise on her wedding day in 1960
Born (1928-08-19) 19 August 1928
Paris, French Third Republic
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1959; died 2010)​
IssuePrince Edouard-Xavier
Prince Robert Emanuel
Prince Charles-Henri
Princess Marie Gabrielle
Names
Marie-Françoise Antoinette Jeanne Madeleine
HouseBourbon-Parma
FatherPrince Xavier, Duke of Parma and Piacenza
MotherMadeleine de Bourbon-Busset
OccupationHumanitarian, philanthropist

A princess of the House of Bourbon-Parma by birth and the House of Lobkowicz by marriage, her wedding in 1960 was the first Bourbon wedding to take place at Notre-Dame de Paris since the wedding of Charles Ferdinand, Duke of Berry to Princess Caroline of Naples and Sicily in 1816 during the Bourbon Restoration.

Early life and family

Marie-Françoise was born on 19 August 1928 in Paris. She is the daughter of Prince Xavier of Bourbon-Parma, Duke of Parma and Piacenza, and Madeleine de Bourbon-Busset. Her father was the titular Duke of Parma, the Carlist pretender to the Spanish throne, and the head of the House of Bourbon-Parma. Her mother, as the daughter of Georges de Bourbon-Busset, Count de Lignières, was a member of the non-dynastic Bourbon-Busset line of the House of Bourbon. She is a direct descendant of Saint Louis IX and Louis XIV. She is a sister of Prince Carlos Hugo, Duke of Parma, Princess María Teresa, Princess Cécile, and Prince Sixtus Henry, Duke of Aranjuez.

During the German occupation of France, her father was arrested by the Nazis and later deported to the Dachau concentration camp. After his detainment, she fled to Austria with assistance from Catholic Relief Services during the exodus of Hungarians during the Hungarian Revolution of 1956. She then settled in West Berlin to help those who fled the Soviet Union.[1]

Marriage and issue

On 11 December 1959 Marie-Françoise married Prince Edouard de Lobkowicz in a civil ceremony in Besson, Allier. A religious ceremony was held on 7 January 1960 at Notre-Dame de Paris.[2][3] Their wedding was the first Bourbon wedding to take place at the cathedral since the wedding of Charles Ferdinand, Duke of Berry, to Princess Caroline of Naples and Sicily in 1816.[4] They had four children:

Marie-Françoise's oldest son, Edourad-Xavier, was murdered in Paris in 1984.[5] Her second son, Robert Emanuel, died in 1988 from a brain tumor.[6] Her husband died in 2010.

Humanitarian work

In 1980 she and her family moved to Lebanon, where her husband had been appointed as the ambassador for the Sovereign Military Order of Malta. In Lebanon she became involved in the construction and development of twelve medical-social centers owned by the Order. In 1987 she founded the Malte Liban Association, a Catholic organization which raises money for the medical clinics serving the poor.[7]

Marie-Françoise was a member of the Saint-Siège delegation of the United Nations from 1990 to 1995.

References
  1. "Françoise de Bourbon-Lobkowicz, au nom du Liban". Le Figaro.
  2. Genealogisches Handbuch des Adels, Fürstlicher Häuser Band XVIII, 189.
  3. https://www.nytimes.com/1960/01/08/archives/princess-prince-j-wed-in-cathedral-of-notre-dame-francoise-of.html
  4. Inc, Time (February 8, 1960). "LIFE". Time Inc – via Google Books.
  5. Eric Pace, "Body of Prince Found Near Paris", New York Times (8 May 1984), A12.
  6. "Robert de Lobkowicz, Prince, 26", New York Times (1 November 1988).
  7. "Fondateur".
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